And from that brewing dispute in Jalacte, we also asked the Maya Leaders Alliance about the situation in Santa Cruz, Toledo. That's where, as viewers are well aware, 13 Mayan residents stand charged with unlawful imprisonment, because they handcuffed and tried to evict Creole Belizean Rupert Myles.
They say that Miles is squatting on, and has destroyed, a portion the Ux Benka Mayan Natural Monument. The Department of Archaeology agrees with them that Myles is in the wrong, but Myles says that it's racism that caused them to try to kick him out. He also contends that he is not on the site, and that he did not destroy the monument.
Dr. John Morris, the Director of the Department of Archaeology committed 3 months ago to taking legal and criminal action against Myles, and the Mayans say that since that promise was made, nothing much was has been done.
Today, the MLA's Program Coordinator told us that the Director of Archaeology has finally gotten in touch with them to brief them about exactly what will happen shortly:
Pablo Mis, Program Coordinator, MLA
"We just heard from Dr. Morris a few days ago through an email where he has explained that he should be in PG today again following up in person with the status of Mr. Myles still being on the site. I understand through his email that a letter has been served to Mr. Myles and there is no clarity in terms of the Institute of Culture whether he has comply or not and I understood from his email that today he was going to take the opportunity to validate for himself whether he has complied or not. I also get from the email that they will continue to pursue then the next course of action, in terms of pursuing legal action against Mr. Myles. For the community, that's all they had been asking, at least to know what the status is. This is the first time we have heard since the incident of what exactly is going on. So we are pleased to know that there are some activity towards resolving that situation."
The Santa Cruz 13 went back to court on Tuesday, and their case was adjourned once again to December 16. We'll check back with the Mayans then and tell you if anything has changed.
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